Former Colorado youth sports coach pleads guilty to sex assault on a child, unlawful sexual contact

A former coach at a popular northern Colorado youth sports program pleaded guilty Wednesday to sex assault charges for abusing teenage girls who were part of the program.

Terel Hughes, 33, pleaded guilty to sex assault on a child between the ages of 15-18 by a person in a position of trust, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of unlawful sexual contact, online court records show.

Hughes worked as a program director and an instructor at Integrity Sports Arena in Windsor, where law enforcement officials said he asked teenage girls in the program for nude photos via Snapchat and sexually assaulted at least one of his victims.

Windsor police opened an investigation into Hughes on Jan. 2, 2021, after Integrity Sports Arena staff reported allegations against him. Police substantiated allegations from four girls but believed there could be more victims, Windsor police Cmdr. Aaron Lopez previously said.

Integrity Sports Arena suspended Hughes from his coaching role on Jan. 3, 2021, but allowed him to continue facilitating soccer leagues from home with no access to the facility and no in-person contact while the investigation continued. The company fired Hughes after his arrest on April 1, 2021.

Hughes played basketball for Colorado State University between 2010 and 2011 before leaving the program due to a knee injury, according to his now-deleted biography on Integrity Sports Arena’s website. His father is a CSU Hall of Fame player and a former NBA player with the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz, according to the biography.

Hughes is scheduled to be sentenced June 9 in Larimer County District Court.

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